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Eliminate the grey areas

Look for those “grey areas” that may be costing you money and workers. Taking steps to eliminate the grey – creating SOPs that are used and having good conversations daily – can be two steps forward towards a better environment for you and your workforce.

One recent discussion with some dairy producers turned a bit philosophical when it came to workers on the dairies. One said, “You’ve got to keep things simple, otherwise you can create too many problems to manage.” A fellow producer agreed and emphasized the need to keep good workers rather than risk turnover and retraining. The conversation ebbed and flowed and eventually moved on to other topics, but a few questions remain.

Are good workers such a hot commodity that producers trade high expectations for worker longevity?

Is a stable, skilled workforce out of reach?

Dairy owners and managers have an enormous amount of information at their fingertips, and they develop sets of “best practices” for various areas of the operation based on this information. For example, parlor routines are based on the basic biology of oxytocin release created by a good prep procedure, appropriate prep-lag times, etc. The research data is available; the understanding of that data is information useful at the farm level, but what about the implementation – putting it into practice? It’s the “grey area” that is the hand off between manager and worker. The manager has the information, knows the proper methods, understands the importance and the economic implications of good vs bad practices – BUT how does that get translated to the front line workers. “Grey areas” allow for interpretation (sometimes incorrectly) of how to complete a task, even those seemingly simple tasks like milking, feeding, or cleaning up.

So what’s the answer to question #1 above, should we adjust management to make it easier for workers? Isn’t this lowering the bar? Would it be better to SET the standard based on current knowledge and best practices, then train and enforce that standard? By eliminating that “grey area” with a good standard operating procedure (SOP) – maybe with some photos, bi-lingual with correct wording – managers can better define correct and incorrect practices. Training workers for correct ways with an SOP and building understanding within the workforce will allow for better enforcement when workers may be moving back to old habits or incorrect practices. With some time and effort, it can be both simple and effective.

What about the second question – keeping good workers? Would you be likely to stay at a job where what you were doing and how you were expected to do it were unclear (those grey areas again)? We have all heard the phrase that “cows crave consistency;” well, so do people. Good managers create good workers by letting them know what to expect, what is important, and also what is not acceptable or tolerated – often before those problems arise. Communication is likely the biggest “grey area” on the farm. Often workers may be unsure of how to complete a task, and rather than ask questions, they use the knowledge that they have to complete it as best they can. Their methods might not be correct, or the task might not get done at all. Managers are then faced with costly mistakes, doing or redoing, and correcting workers – frustrating for both managers and workers. A better approach would be to anticipate problem areas (find the grey) and explain, break down steps, use SOPs, and have detailed conversations. If you ask, “Do you understand?” – I will say YES. If you ask, “Can you show me how you do this?” – we will both learn something. Workers want to stay out of the grey, so better conversations and more clarity can result in more skilled workers that want to stay on your dairy. Simple, yet effective.

So that stable, skilled workforce may not quite be within reach, especially given the current climate for immigration reform, but look at the workforce that you have. Look for those “grey areas” that may be costing you money and workers. Taking steps to eliminate the grey – creating SOPs that are used and having good conversations daily – can be two steps forward towards a better environment for you and your workforce.